Sunday, May 21, 2017

San Lorenzo Greatest All-Time team

This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for the club. The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.San Lorenzo is also considered one of the "big five" ("Los 5 Grandes") of Argentine football by Argentine press, with Independiente, River Plate, Boca Juniors, and Racing Club. San Lorenzo plays its home games at Estadio Pedro Bidegain, popularly known as Nuevo Gasómetro. In 1968, San Lorenzo won the Metropolitano championship, and became the first team in the professional era of Argentine football to complete a season without losing a game. In 1972, they won both of the Argentine league titles, this time they completed the Nacional championship without losing a single game. In 2014, they won the Copa Libertadores.

1968 the undefeated team

TeamGK: Agustín Irusta (Argentina)Irusta made his professional debut for San Lorenzo in 1963. He went on to make 257 league appearances for the club, which is the club record for a goalkeeper, and the fifth highest tally of appearances in any position. Irusta also played for the Argentina national team. Irusta was one of five players to win four league titles with San Lorenzo between 1968 and 1974. In 1977 Irusta joined Unión de Santa Fe before his retirement in 1978.GK: Carlos Buttice (Argentina) He started his career with San Lorenzo. He played for most of his career in clubs of Argentina, Brazil and Chile.In Chile Buttice played for Unión Española. He was part of the 1977 Unión Española team that won the Primera División de Chile.GK: Sebastián Saja (Argentina) Saja had nearly 200 overall appearances for San Lorenzo de Almagro, being voted South America's best goalkeeper in 2002. In 2001, he helped the team win the Clausura and the Copa Mercosur, adding the following year's Copa Sudamericana. From 2003 to 2007, he played in Spain, Brazil, Mexico and Brazil. In 2007, he moved to AEK in Greece. Between 2011 and 2016, he played form Racing. At the time of writing, he plays in Spain. Capped 4 times.CB/RB: Jorge Olguín (Argentina)He started his career at San Lorenzo in 1971, he played for the club for 8 years, in that time they won three trophies (1972 Metropolitano, 1972 Nacional and 1974 Nacional). In 1978, Olguín was included in Argentina's world cup squad playing as a rightback. Following his success at the world cup he was sold to Independiente. In 1983 Olguín won his only trophy with Independiente, the 1983 Metropolitano. In 1984 Olguín was sold to Argentinos Juniors, where he helped Argentinos win their first and only Copa Libertadores title. RB: Antonio Rosl (Argentina)Rosl played club football for Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro in Argentina where he was part of the team that famously went unbeaten for the whole of the 1972 Nacional championship. In 1976, he retires in Gimnasia y Esgrima La Pla. He picked 13 caps.

CB: Rafael Albrecht (Argentina)He started his career with Club Atlético Tucumán in 1957. In 1960, he was signed by Estudiantes, where he excelled and, thus, was called to play for the Argentina national team in 1961. In 1962 he was transferred to San Lorenzo for 10 million pesos, a huge amount for those days. The 'Matadores' team won the 1968 Metropolitano Championship without losing a single game. In 1970, he moved to play for Leon in Mexico. For Argentina, he went to both 1962 and 1960 WC Finals.

Rafael Albrecht

CB: Ramón Heredia (Argentina)Heredia started his playing career in 1969 with San Lorenzo in Argentina. He was part of the squad that won both league titles in 1972. He joined Atlético Madrid in 1973 and played in the 1974 European Cup Final. An undisputed starter in his first three years, he lost his regular place in the 4th due to injuries (as atletico won the league title). He then moved to Paris Saint-Germain, where again he would be used rarely. After two seasons with the latter, he chose to retire. He played 30 times for Argentina, including appearances at the 1974 FIFA World Cup.

CB: Angel Zubieta (Spain)Zubieta started his playing career in the 1935–36 season at the age of 17. He became the youngest player ever to play for Spain at the age of only 17 years and 9 months in 1936. During the Spanish Civil War, he joined San Lorenzo during a tour of South America with the Basque Country national football team. He stayed with the club for 13 seasons and he is the 3rd on the list of San Lorenzo players with most games for the club. In 1952 Zubieta returned to Spain, joining Deportivo de La Coruña where he played until his retirement in 1956 at the age of 38.CB: Oscar Calics (Argentina)He started his career at Banfield in 1958, where he grained promotion to the first division in 1962. In 1966 he moved to San Lorenzo where he was called to the Argentine national team for the 1966 World Cup. In 1968 he won the title of the Metropolitan Tournament with San Lorenzo, with the team known as Los Matadores. In 1970, he went to Atletico Nacional in Colombia. He went there to play a friendly tournament, but stayed until 1973. CB: Oscar RuggeriOscar Ruggeri was considered one of the greatest defenders from Argentina. He played in 3 World Cup Finals, winning the one in 1986 and finishing second in 1990. He was La Liga Foreign Player of the Year in 1989 and South American Player of the Year in 1991. He played for both River Plate and Boca Juniors as well as Real Madrid in Spain.

Oscar Ruggeri

LB: Sergio Villar (Uruguay)Villar is at the top of the San Lorenzo all-time appearances list. In 1968, San Lorenzo won the Metropolitano championship, and became the first team in the professional era of Argentine football to complete a season without losing a game. In 1972, Villar was part of the San Lorenzo team that won both of the Argentine league titles, this time they completed the Nacional championship without losing a single game. Villar won his fourth title with San Lorenzo in 1974 when the club won the Nacional championship.

DM: Luis Monti (Argentina/Italy)The ruthless central midfielder led Argentina to the WC Final in 1930 where they lost to Uruguay. Four years later, he became an Oriundo and won the World Cup with Italy. He was also remembered for getting injured at the Battle of Highbury in 1934 when England played Italy. Monti started his career in 1921 with Huracán. The following year he signed with Boca Juniors but left without playing a game. He joined San Lorenzo. In 1930, he joined Juventus in Italy, where he played until 1939.

Luis Monti

DM/CM: Roberto Telch (Argentina)Tech has the second most appearances for San Lorenzo behind Sergio Villar. Telch is one of only five players to have won four league championships with San Lorenzo, the others being Sergio Villar, Victorio Cocco, Carlos Veglio and Agustín Irusta, including the first team in the professional era of Argentine football to complete a season without losing a game. He also played Unión de Santa Fe and Colón de Santa Fe. He retired at the end of the 1980 season with a total of 630 appearances in the Argentine Primera, a record only surpassed by Hugo Gatti and Ricardo Bochini. In 1974 Telch played for the Argentina national team at the 1974 World Cup.DM/CM: Nestor Gorosito (Argentina)Néstor Pipo Gorosito began his playing career at River Plate, and subsequently had 3 spells at San Lorenzo where he scored 72 goals in 241 appearances. His other main club was Chile's Universidad Católica, where he contributed with 149 appearances and retired with the side in 2000. Gorosito had a spell playing for Swarovski Tirol in Austria between 1989 and 1991, and in Japan with Yokohama Marinos in 1996. He also made 19 appearances for Argentina national team between 1989 and 1997.CM: Victorio Cocco (Argentina)Cocco made his professional debut playing for Unión de Santa Fe in the Argentine 2nd division in 1964. He was part of the team that won the championship and promotion to the Primera in 1966. Cocco was signed by San Lorenzo in 1968 and was a part of the team's great team of the 1970's. In 1975 Cocco played for Deportivo La Coruña in Spain, but he returned to Argentina in 1976 to play for River Plate. In 1977, he joined Club Atlético Atlanta where he got his first taste of management as a player manager in the last few games of the Metropolitano 1977. He also played for Boca Juniors. Capped 6 times.AM: Leandro Romagnoli (Argentina)He was a homegrown talent of San Lorenzo. He played over 200 matches before he signed with Mexico's Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz in 2005. A year later, he joined Sporting Clube de Portugal. He rejoined San Lorenzo in 2009. in 2014, he helped them to win the Copa Libertadores. He earned one senior cap.

Leandro Romagnoli

AM: José SanFilippo (Argentina)During his club career he played for San Lorenzo, Boca Juniors and Banfield in Argentina, Nacional in Uruguay, and Bangu and SC Bahia in Brazil. He is the 5th highest scoring player in Argentine football. At the international level, Sanfilippo played for the Argentina in the 1958 and 1962 World Cup Finals. He was also part of the Argentina squads that won the 1955 Pan American Games and the 1957 South American Championship.

José SanFilippo

SS: Rinaldo Martino (Argentina/Italy)Martino was signed by San Lorenzo de Almagro in 1941 at the age of 19 from Belgrano de Rosario. In 1949 Martino moved to Italy joining Juventus and helping them to record their first championship since the 1930s. Martino then moved to Uruguay to play for Nacional helping them to win the Uruguayan Championship. In 1951 Martino returned to Argentina to play for Boca Juniors but he was sold back to Nacional in 1952. He played there until 1953, helping the team to win another Uruguayan league title and several other minor titles. In 1953 he joined C.A. Cerro who were his last club. He earned over 20 caps for Argenti a before moving to play in Italy, where he earned a single cap for Italy.ST: Lobo Fischer (Argentina)Nicknamed "El Lobo" (the "Wolf"). With San Lorenzo de Almagro in Buenos Aires, he won three championship and he remains one of the foremost strikers in the club's history. Among others, he also played for Botafogo FR in Brazil and CD Once Caldas in Colombia. From 1967 onward he also played 35 matches for the national team for which he scored 12 goals. ST: Alfredo Carricaberry (Argentina)Caricaberry started his career at the youth divisions of Club Floresta of Buenos Aires, then moving to Estudiantil Porteño of Ramos Mejía where he played at intermediate division. In 1919 he joined San Lorenzo de Almagro, where he spent most of his career playing until 1930 with a total of 297 games and 104 goals, where he won two titles in 1923 and 1924. Caricaberry also played for the Argentina national team, winning the Silver medal at the 1928 Olympic Games and one Copa América in 1927. ST: Rene Pontoni (Argentina)Pontoni started his career with Gimnasia y Esgrima de Santa Fe before joining Newell's Old Boys in 1940. Pontoni made his debut for the Argentina national team in 1942. He went on to score 19 goals in 19 games for his country, helping them to become South American champions in 1945, 1946 and 1947. In 1944 Pontoni joined San Lorenzo where he helped the team to win the Primera División in 1946. In 1949, he joined Independiente Santa Fe in Colombia where he remained until 1952. In 1953 Pontoni moved to Brazil, where he spent one season with Portuguesa in São Paulo before returning to Argentina for one last season with San Lorenzo in 1954.ST: Hector Scotta (Argentina)Scotta started his career in 1970 with Unión de Santa Fe but after only one season he moved to San Lorenzo de Almagro. In 1975 Scotta was the topscorer of the Nacional championship with 28 goals and Metropolitano champion with 32 goals, this made him the topscorer in South America and in world football for 1975. Scotta was awarded the Olimpia de Plata as the Argentine sports writer's footballer of the year. He later joined Grêmio in Brazil, where he helped them to win the Campeonato Gaúcho in 1977. In 1979 Scotta returned to San Lorenzo. He also played for Ferro Carril Oeste, Boca Juniors and Sevilla FC.

ST: Hector Veira (Argentina)Veira started his professional career in 1963 with San Lorenzo, in 1964 he became the topscorer in the Argentina Primera División at the age of only 18. In 1967 Veira received his first call up to the national team and in 1968 he helped San Lorenzo to win the Metropolitano championship without losing a game, to become the first team in the professional era of Argentine football to become unbeaten champions. In 1970 Veira joined Huracán, the club he had supported as a boy. He also played for Laguna in Mexico, Club Atlético Banfield in Argentina, Sevilla in Spain, Corinthians in Brazil, CSD Comunicaciones in Guatemala and Universidad de Chile.ST: Isidro Lángara (Spain)He started with Real Oviedo in Spain. At Oviedo, he was the winner of the Pichichi Trophy in three straight seasons. Due to the Spanish Civil War, he first joined Euzkadi in Mexico and then, San Lorenzo in Argentina. With San Lorenzo, Lángara was San Lorenzo's star player alongside René Pontoni and Reinaldo Martino. In 1943, he joined Club Espana in Mexico, where he was top scorer twice, in 1944 and 1946. Still today he is the only footballer in history to be top scorer in major leagues on three different continents.

Isidro Lángara

ST: Beto Acosta (Argentina)In a professional career which spanned 18 years (nearly 700 official games and more than 250 goals), he played for San Lorenzo in four different spells. Additionally, he represented clubs in France, Chile, Japan and Portugal. In 1994, he was crowned the top scorer in South American football, netting 33 times in only 25 matches. Acosta appeared with Argentina in two Copa América tournaments in 1993 and 1995.

Beto Acosta

Honorable MentionBartolome Colombo, Horacio Ameli, Paulo Silas, Rubén Cousillas, Oscar Passet, Mirko Blazina, Jose Chilavert, Rolando Escudero, Bernardo Romeo, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Julio Buffarini, Eduardo Tuzzio, Horacio Ameli, Rubén Ayala, Arturo Arrieta, Pablo Michelini, Norberto Boggio.Squad Explanation-- There are plenty of available goalkeepers: Rubén Cousillas, Oscar Passet, Mirko Blazina and Jose Chilavert.-- The third keeper was between Sebastian Saja and Sebastián Torrico. They were about the same. Saja at the time of writing has played longer for the club so I gave him the third spot.-- Jose Chilavert's career was much better elsewhere.-- Mirko Blazina was a keeper from Yugoslavia playing in the 1940's.-- I was deciding between Oscar Calics and Oscar Ruggeri. Oscar Calics was with that great team of 1970's, but Ruggeri is a more famous name(but for his career elsewhere). I could not decide. So I took both.-- Another "Oscar" was also considered. I dropped Oscar Basso because I don't have much information with him. I also do not know much about Arturo Arrieta.-- Leandro Romagnoli won the 2014 Copa Libertadores. Julio Buffarini is too young and his career here was too brief.-- Ezequiel Lavezzi spent a short spell with the club. He was sensational, but not enough to make the all-time team.-- Pablo Michelini appeared in some lists, but I do not know what he actually did, despite being a modern player.-- Luis Monti seemed to have been forgotten. His name does not appear in a lot of San Lorenzo's all-time list. People forgot that he started with the club.-- The team has too many strikers, but it is difficult to drop anyone. Formation